The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, were an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Jerry Dammers on keyboards, Lynval Golding and Roddy Radiation on guitars, Horace Panter on bass, John Bradbury on drums, and Dick Cuthell and Rico Rodriguez on horns. The band wore mod-style "1960s period rude boy outfits ". Their music combines the danceable rhythms of ska and rocksteady with the energy and attitude of punk. Lyrically, their work presented overt political and social commentary.
Rude boy is a subculture that originated from 1960s Jamaican street culture. In the late 1970s, there was a revival in England of the terms rude boy and rude girl, among other variations like rudeboy and rudebwoy, being used to describe fans of two-tone and ska. This revival of the subculture and term was partially the result of Jamaican immigration to the UK and the so-called ”Windrush” generation. The use of these terms moved into the more contemporary ska punk movement as well. In the UK and especially Jamaica, the terms rude boy and rude girl are used in a way similar to gangsta, yardie, or badman.
The Specials is the debut album by British ska revival band the Specials. Released on 19 October 1979 on Jerry Dammers' 2 Tone label, the album is seen by some as the defining moment in the UK ska scene. Produced by Elvis Costello, the album captures the disaffection and anger felt by the youth of the UK's "concrete jungle"—a phrase borrowed from Bob Marley's 1973 album Catch a Fire—used to describe the grim, violent inner cities of 1970s Britain. The album features a mixture of original material and several covers of classic Jamaican ska tracks.
Emmanuel "Rico" Rodriguez, also known as Rico, Reco or El Reco, was a Cuban-born Jamaican ska and reggae trombonist. He recorded with producers such as Karl Pitterson, Prince Buster, and Lloyd Daley. He was known as one of the first ska musicians. Beginning in the 1960s, he worked with The Members, The Specials, Jools Holland, and Paul Young.
2 Tone Records was an English independent record label that mostly released ska and reggae-influenced music with a punk rock and pop music overtone. It was founded by Jerry Dammers of the Specials and backed by Chrysalis Records.
"Suspicious Minds" is a 1968 song written and first recorded by the American songwriter Mark James. After this recording failed commercially, it was recorded by Elvis Presley with the producer Chips Moman. Presley's version reached No.1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, his 18th and final no. 1 single on that chart.
"Ghost Town" is a song by the British two-tone band the Specials, released on 12 June 1981. The song spent three weeks at number one and 11 weeks in total in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart.
"I Just Can't Stop Loving You" is a 1987 duet ballad by American singers Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett, and was released as the first single on July 20, 1987, by Epic Records from his seventh album, Bad. The song was written by Jackson, and co-produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. The presence of Garrett on the track was a last-minute decision by Jackson and Jones, after Jackson's first two choices for the duet both decided against participating. Garrett, a protégé of Jones's who co-wrote another song on Bad, "Man in the Mirror", did not know that she would be singing the song until the day of the recording session. It became her first hit since Dennis Edwards' 1984 song "Don't Look Any Further". Garrett remains known primarily for her work with Jackson to this day.
"I've Got You Under My Skin" is a song written by American composer Cole Porter in 1936. It was introduced that year in the Eleanor Powell musical film Born to Dance in which it was performed by Virginia Bruce. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year but lost out to "The Way You Look Tonight". Popular recordings in 1936 were by Ray Noble and his Orchestra and by Hal Kemp and his Orchestra.
"Sunday Morning" is a song by American pop rock band Maroon 5. It was released on November 8, 2004, as the fourth single from their debut studio album Songs About Jane (2002). The single peaked at number 31 in the United States, becoming Maroon 5's fourth Top 40 single; it also peaked at number 27 in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Too Much Too Young - The Special A.K.A. Live! is a live EP by The Specials with Rico Rodriguez, released on 11 January 1980. On the original release, the front cover credited the performers as The Special A.K.A. featuring Rico, while the back cover mentions and the labels credited only The Specials.
"Oh Carolina" is a 1958 song by the Folkes Brothers, produced by Prince Buster and released in 1960, after which it became an early ska hit. It was covered by many various artists, including Shaggy in 1993.
Dandy Livingstone is a British-Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae musician and record producer, best known for his 1972 hit, "Suzanne Beware of the Devil", and for his song, "Rudy, A Message to You", which was later a cover hit for The Specials. "Suzanne Beware of the Devil", reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart and number 78 in Australia. In the early 1960s, Livingstone recorded some of the bestselling UK-produced ska singles of the era.
English ska revival band the Specials recorded nine studio albums, one collaboration album, five live albums, eleven compilation albums, four extended plays, twenty-three singles, and filmed five videos.
"Love of the Common People" is a song written by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins, eventually released in 1970 on John Hurley's album John Hurley Sings about People, but first sung in January 1967 by the Four Preps. The Four Preps' recording was not a hit, but, later in 1967, the Everly Brothers and Wayne Newton would each issue their versions of the song, both of which "bubbled under" in the US charts; Newton's version peaked at No. 106, the Everlys' at No. 114. However, the Everly Brothers' recording was a major hit in Canada, peaking at No. 4. In 1968, Irish artist Joe Dolan and backing grouping the Drifters recorded a version which hit the top 10 on the Irish Singles Chart, but did not chart elsewhere.
"Let's Do Rock Steady", also known as "(People Get Ready) Let's Do Rock Steady" and "People Do Rock Steady", is rocksteady song by Dandy Livingstone that was first released in October 1967 as the flip side to his single "We Are Still Rude". It was then released in early 1968 on his album Rock Steady with Dandy as "People Do Rock Steady". The song is better known for being covered by the Bodysnatchers in 1980.
"007 (Shanty Town)" is a 1967 rocksteady song by Jamaican band Desmond Dekker and the Aces, released as a single from their debut album of the same name. It was also a hit for Musical Youth in 1983. "007 (Shanty Town)" has been called "the most enduring and archetypal" rude boy song. Its title and lyrics refer to the cool imagery of films such as the James Bond series and Ocean's 11, admired by "rudies".
"Rude" is the debut single by Canadian band Magic! from their debut studio album, Don't Kill the Magic. It was originally released on October 11, 2013, as a promotional single and then re-released on February 24, 2014, by Sony Music Entertainment. The official remix for the song features Kid Ink and Ty Dolla Sign, with Blink-182 member Travis Barker on the drums.
"Do Nothing" is a song by ska/2-tone band The Specials, released in December 1980 by 2 Tone Records as the second single from More Specials. The single peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart.
